Makoto Raiku, the author of the original "Konjiki no Gash!!" Manga
Konjiki no Gash!! (金色のガッシュ!!, Konjiki no Gasshu!!) is the original name of the manga and anime series written by Makoto Raiku.
History
After Makoto Raiku's first comic ended in the Shogakukan Shonen newspaper, he scrambled to come up with new ideas. He eventually came up with the idea of a series where a boy named Kiyomaro Takamine finds a toy knight (Gash Bell) which has the ability to transform into a real knight. There were other people with other knights, and they would all do battle against one another. After bringing up the idea to his agent, his agent suggested that he try using a "cuter" character. Raiku was reluctant to try the idea, but he ended up taking his agent's advice. Thus, the series Konjiki no Gash!! was born. The very first chapter, titled Operation: "Hero of Justice" (清麿、正義の味方, Kiyomaro, Seigi no Mikata) was first published in January 2001. Afterwards, the series began progressing chapter by chapter, on a monthly basis. Eventually, Raiku decided to change this to weekly, seeing as the story was progressing too slowly. On May 21, 2001 the very first volume of Konjiki no Gash Bell! hit the bookshelves, leaving thousands of fans clamoring for more. Nearly two years later, Fuji TV adapted the series into a TV show. Cartoon Network aired the first episode on March 5, 2005. Once another almost two years had passed, Makoto Raiku sold the dubbing rights to Toei Animation. Due to a part of the original series that did not translate quite right to English, the titular character, Gash Bell, had his character's name changed to Zatch Bell; and so the English Dub renamed the series "Zatch Bell!". During the same year, on August 2, 2005; Viz Media published the first English Dub of the manga series, which kept the name that was fabricated by Toei Animation, Zatch Bell! While the Japanese anime series concluded on its 150th episode on March 26, 2006; the manga was still going strong. Makoto Raiku finished the series on its 323rd chapter on December 26, 2008. However, the English Dub was not as lucky as to conclude when it chose. Although the series was popular in America, viewership was declining. Many fans had either stopped watching or had switched to watching the original anime. Because of this lack of viewership, the series ended in America after only reaching episode 77 on January 20, 2007; not even completing half of the Japanese anime. Then the series was picked up by Canada's YTV in September 2006. This worked for a while, but eventually the English Dub hit its end once again on December 6, 2008 after reaching episode 104. Finally, Zatch Bell! officially ended once and for all when Viz discontinued the manga on June 9, 2009; after reaching 25 volumes.
Plot
Raiku's appearence in the anime.
Kiyomaro Takamine (Kiyo Takamine in the English Dub) was an average 14-year old genius. He was being bullied at school, so he stopped going to school. This all changed the day he met Gash Bell (Zatch Bell in the English Dub). Gash taught Kiyomaro the importance of friendship and helped him make his first real friend, Suzume Mizuno (Suzy Mizuno in the English Dub). Later, Kiyomaro and Gash, who had gotten amnesia, learned that he is a Mamono (Mamodo in the English Dub). Every 1000 years, 100 Mamonos are sent to Earth for the Mamono fight. Each Mamono partners up with a human who is able to read their book. Using the power of the book, the humans can cast powerful spells for their Mamono by using their own emotions as an energy source. If a Mamono's book is burned, he or she is elminated from the battle, and sent back to the Mamono World. The last Mamono standing in the human world becomes the next King.
Chapters
See Main Article:Manga Chapters
Makoto Raiku's portrayal of himself in the Konjiki no Gash!! Manga.
Episodes
See Main Article:Episode Guide
Changes from Japanese to English
There were many changes from the Japanese Version to the English Version either due to mistranslation ,or at toei animation's request Many fans criticize the English Dub, saying that by changing so many things, they are destroying Makoto Raiku's original work.
See Main Article:Gash Bell VS Zatch Bell